Jersey City struggles to define affordable as it eyes cheaper rents Downtown

Updated June 23, 2017 at 8:07 PM;Posted June 23, 2017 at 2:23 PM

Councilwoman-at-large Joyce Watterman said she understands complaints that initial rents publicized for affordable units at a new Jersey City high-rise were too costly.

Councilwoman-at-large Joyce Watterman said she understands complaints that initial rents publicized for affordable units at a new Jersey City high-rise were too costly. (Michael Dempsey | The Jersey Journal)

The 35-story high-rise on the old Marin Boulevard Pep Boys site will be the first tower in Jersey City with a mandated 80/20 mix of market-rate and affordable housing. The developers, a subsidiary of Forest City, last week announced a lottery system for anyone interested in the 85 affordable apartments.

The announced rents? $1,462 for one bedroom and $1,548 for two bedrooms. Affordable for Downtown, critics say, but still expensive for some of the city's less affluent residents to whom the Fulop administration is touting its plans to increase affordable housing.

"I'm surprised it's that high," said Duane Brodnick, 65, a clerk for the federal government who wants to move into one of the tower's affordable units when it opens in the fall. "I was hoping in the $1,100, $1,200 range."

Asked whether he thinks the rents are affordable, Morrease Leftwich Jr., 19, a student and an intern for a state judge, said, "It depends on what you mean by affordable. It's definitely not cheap."

After The Jersey Journal made inquiries, the tower's developer, Abe Naparstek, said he would lower the rents to a range of $954 to $1,194, the amounts announced when the project broke ground in 2015.

"We want to be consistent with what we said before," Naperstek said. "Ultimately we can charge more than that but we don't want to leave a bad taste in everyone's mouths."

MAKING DOWNTOWN AFFORDABLE

The new tower, formerly known as Hudson Exchange West, is going to be called VYV (pronounced to rhyme with five). Developers are finishing construction on the tower at a time when housing costs Downtown are becoming increasingly out-of-reach to non-wealthy residents.

Real estate agents say market-rate studios fetch around $2,200 and one-bedroom apartments can go for $2,400. Some of the highest rents in newer towers exceed $5,000.

Mayor Steve Fulop, who is seeking a second term in November, has backed several measures he says are aimed at making Downtown less expensive to live in, including a measure before the council that would require any Downtown development with a tax break to have at least 20 percent of its units classified as affordable. Newark is considering a similar measure for all of its large residential developments.

Developers and labor unions want the city to scale back or scuttle that bill, an ordinance Councilwoman-at-large Joyce Watterman said is an attempt to help residents not wealthy enough to pay Downtown rents but not poor enough to receive government subsidies. Watterman seemed surprised by the rents initially proposed for VYV's affordable units but said prices will be high in a thriving real estate market.

"I agree with what the people are saying," she said, "but when it comes to housing, it's based on the market."

VYV, located just south of the Newport mall, is part of a two-tower project that received a 25-year tax break from the city, $20 million in city-used bonds and 10 years of state tax credits totaling $40 million, deals largely credited to the developers' pledge to include affordable housing in the towers. A 17-story tower from KRE Group across Marin Boulevard will also include 20 percent affordable housing and also received a long-term tax break from the city and $40 million in state tax credits.

The city says VYV's rents are outside its control. The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development issues annual guidelines on fair market rents and VYV's rents as initially advertised largely adhere to those figures.

"As you know the rates are based on percentage of median income, which are set by the federal government," city spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill said. "By law we need to follow those guidelines. The city has zero control over the rules set at the federal level. You know this."

LOTTERY

VYV's affordable units will be restricted to households that make no more than income limits set by HUD that represent roughly 80 percent of the county's median income.

For one person, the maximum income is $48,200; for two people, $55,050; for three, $61,950; for four, $68,800; and for five, $74,350. No more than three people will be allowed to live in a one-bedroom apartment and no more than five people for a two-bedroom unit.

Interested renters can register at the VYV affordable housing website. Qualified applicants will be chosen via a lottery system, with Jersey City residents given preference (another recent city law requires city residents get first crack). The deadline to register is July 31.

The Rev. Jessica Lambert, pastor of St. Paul's Lutheran Church and a leader with advocacy group Jersey City Together, cheered the addition of affordable housing and the developer's announcement that the rents as advertised last week would be lowered.

"As we look to the future, we need to leverage every opportunity we can -- downtown, in Journal Square, at Bayfront, Canal Crossing and more -- to create housing that provides a range of affordability for people of all incomes in our city," Lambert said. "This will be critical if we are going to protect one of Jersey City's biggest strengths -- its diversity."